Oh My Love
by the Cheshire Cat
Summary: 3 years gone by... no contact... Hitomi's all alone... or is she?


**Oh My Love**

**by ^death Himura**

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Series: Escaflowne

Pair: Van Slazar Fanel and Kanzaki Hitomi

Location: Er... Gaea?

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Disclaimer: The series and the characters do not belong to me. Neither does the song. I'm just a miserable fiction writer. So don't sue me ne?

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Hitomi rested her chin on the metal railing, her eyes raking the horizon - a canvas of red, yellow and orange. Her eyes darted to where a clump of rocks were. Where he would usually be, watching her. Her pendant clasped softly in his gloved hands.

She sighed and adjusted her position.

_An empty street  
An empty house  
A hole inside my heart  
I'm all alone  
The rooms are getting smaller_

Three years had gone by without any incident. Her life had resumed back to its normal and almost stagnant pace. Hitomi grew up, taller yet still retaining her lithe frame. Her sandy blonde hair was no longer cropped short, yet instead had grown so that it now reached her upper back.

Her facial features never changed.

Her personality didn't alter.

But there was this emptiness in her heart. A silent and secret longing.

What could it be?

What was she missing?

_I wonder how  
I wonder why  
I wonder where they are  
The days we had  
The songs we sang together  
Oh yeah_

"Hitomi?"

"Hmm?" she spun around, to find her friend and her mentor behind her. Their fingers laced and inter-twined. A sign of a blissful relationship. She smiled a greeting and waited for them to join her at the balcony.

"Can't believe we're graduating from College." Yukari said excitedly. 

The pair had been together since they first met in elementary school. Then Yukari and Hitomi got into the same high school before seeing each other again in College. Amano-sempai had gone off to America but returned a year later. Within that space of time, he and Yukari had written to each other almost everyday without fail. Their love blossomed and matured and it was hinted, that he would be proposing to her any moment.

Hitomi smiled, her eyes still glued to the scenery. Yukari narrowed her eyes and then turned to face Amano. His face too wore a look of concern.

"Hitomi..." Yukari's voice was a whisper. "Is something the matter?"

_And oh my love  
I'm holding on forever  
Reaching for a love that seems so far_

"Ne Yukari... I'm alright. Doushite?"

"You seem so... subdued. Are you sure nothing is wrong?" Yukari pressed on. In actual fact, Hitomi had been growing lesser of her usual self for the last three years. She grew quiet, she had stopped doing Tarot readings and sometimes was so lost in her thoughts she didn't see where she was walking. This worried Yukari, who had then written to Amano.

_::Chorus::  
So I say a little prayer  
And hope my dreams will take me there  
Where the skies are blue to see you once again, my love  
Over seas and coast to coast  
To find a place I love the most  
Where the fields are green to see you once again, my love_

*~* flashback *~*

"Maybe she's experiencing some difficulty at home?"

"No... can't be. If that truly was happening, Hitomi would have told me. And I'm quite close to her mother as well. Hitomi is not like her usual self. Something's wrong."

"How long has this been going on?"

"I don't know... wait. You know when that strange boy appeared out of nowhere?"

"Yeah."

"And then she disappeared with him?"

"Yeah."

"Well she's been like that a few months after she returned. She just looks so lost it's scaring me Amano-itooshi."

"Don't worry Yukari-chan. I'm positive there's a logical explanation for all this."

"Sou... I hope so. I'm just worried for her."

"Like the sister you never had."

"Hai... sister..."

*~* end flashback *~*

_I try to read  
I go to work  
I'm laughing with my friends  
But I can't stop to keep myself from thinking  
Oh no_

Hitomi sighed inwardly. If only Yukari knew. 

Why didn't she tell Yukari?

Because I thought then she wouldn't believe me. I didn't want her to be worried for me, she was so happy with Amano-sempai. Hitomi looked down to the shore, watching married couples with children laugh happily. So carefree... so at ease.

Do I regret the decision I made? To return home? Should I have stayed?

But... he said... Oh I don't know. I doubt he'd still remember me. For all I know, he's married with three kids.

Again her eyes darted to the rocks. She had stopped seeing Van on her second year away from him. He appeared less frequently and she always though it was because he was busy with rebuilding Fanelia. 

Fanelia...

She wondered how it was now. The wonderful scenery... cannot be compared to anything here. Lush greenery all around and the occasional visit from the horrendous land dragons.

Perhaps he really did get married... Maybe he did. After all... he is the King of Fanelia. He needs a bride, a wife and an heir.

Closing her eyes, Hitomi's heart tightened.

No... I won't cry.

_I wonder how  
I wonder why  
I wonder where they are  
The days we had  
The songs we sang together  
Oh yeah_

"Yukari, Amano-sempai. I'll be off now. I promised my mother I would be home early this evening. Ja, mata ato de." giving a polite bow, Hitomi excused herself from the pair and made her way towards the bench where she had left her backpack.

Her hands were trembling as she slid the straps onto her shoulders and then stood up straight.

Home again.

My sanctuary.

I won't cry. I'm not sad. It's all for the best. 

All for the best.

_And oh my love  
I'm holding on forever  
Reaching for a love that seems so far_

_"Hitomi..."_ What was that? The light-haired girl turned around, watching the dimly lit pathway behind her. She shook her head.

Hallucinations... when will they stop. Everytime I hear someone call me, I imagine it's him. Truly Hitomi, get a grip on yourself. Delusions... I'm dreaming again.

She walked on, her pace getting faster until she broke into a run.

_"Running from what? Running from who? Running from me?"_

That voice again. It was so strangely familiar. But it couldn't be him. It isn't him. 

She paused and silence enveloped her like the mist setting down.

Mist?

Her visibility was down to zero. Hitomi turned around and all she could see was wafting grey smoke.

She shivered slightly. Something was wrong.

Her hand instinctively came up to reach for her pendant, and then remembered she had given it to him.

Pre-Gaea, Hitomi would always hold on to her pendant should any danger arise. The action made her feel safer, as though she knew that somehow, her grandmother would be protecting her. But without it now, she felt alone. Isolated. 

Helpless.

"Who's there?" her voice came out a sharp whisper, her throat constricted. She had learnt basic self-defence and was only waiting to have a go at actually trying it out. She slowly got into a stance and waited, eyes and ears alert. Her heart pounding wildly against her ribs.

_To hold you in my arms  
To promise you my love  
To tell you from the heart  
You're all I'm thinking of_

_"Hitomi..."_ She froze. The voice was definitely nearer. She couldn't stop herself from trembling and just then, opted to run. Not caring where.

Her legs moved without prompting and she felt the chilling wind lashing against her cheeks. 

And just then as she thought the worst was over, she felt herself careening into a figure. 

A grunt, a scream and a curse.

"Hitomi!"

"Anata... dare..." she whispered. The mist still clouded her vision but she could roughly make the outline of the person sprawled over her. Instinct called her to fight, and fight she did. Pushing her assailant off her, which was a futile attempt.

"Hitomi! It's me!"

"Who are you?" She flinched as she felt the figure get up and then hauled her to her knees. Her eyes squinted. A hand brushed away the lock of hair that covered on eye. The mist began to clear.

Hitomi's body tensed.

No...

It couldn't be...

_I'm reaching for a love that seems so far_

"Yes Hitomi... it's me... Van..."

_So I say a little prayer  
And hope my dreams will take me there  
Where the skies are blue to see you once again, my love  
Over seas and coast to coast  
To find a place I love the most  
Where the fields are green to see you once again, my love_

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Author's Notes: Yeah. Cliff hanger isn't it? Kekeke... I'll prolly put up a sequel if I feel like it. Or maybe if I get enough reviews. An author needs to be motivated and encouraged ne? ^_^


End file.
